McCaffery: Phillies fans will boo, regardless of broadcast booth boo-hoos

In any reasonable debate, there is room near the top for Mike Schmidt as the best modern-era Phillies player of all time. Might even be No. 1. No lower than three. Yet he was never the most popular because he never could figure out the Philadelphia sports fan.

Still can’t.

Never will, apparently.

A couple of weeks ago, Phillies fans were roundly saluted for giving Trea Turner a standing ovation and contributing to snapping one of the great shortstops of his era out of a horrifying slump. But in the cross winds of the moment, the ever-ill-informed decided that booing was becoming extinct in Philadelphia.

Armed with that fake news, there was Schmidt at a Citizens Bank Park microphone last weekend touting the career of Scott Rolen, who, on brand, was too busy to accept his Wall of Fame plaque in person. Yet every time the best third baseman in club history mentioned the name of one who never belonged near that discussion, Rolen was booed.

Schmidt was shocked. Shocked, he was.

“Hey, come on,” he said. “We don’t do that any more.”

Says who?

Turner so wanted to play for the Phillies that he committed to an 11-year contract. He was struggling, but he was trying. Philadelphia fans never booed anyone who tried and who showed a passion to win for the city.  It’s why they gave Pete Rose a standing ovation last year. It’s why they never embraced Ben Simmons. They know what they see. They know how they feel. They will react as they want to react. They don’t have to be tutored.

Rolen was offered the largest contract in Phillies history – more than Schmidt ever made– and instead moped until he was traded, then showed up in St. Louis and declared it “baseball heaven,” fully aware of how it would play on Pattison Ave. And while Rolen had some kind things to say about the Phillies (the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds too, covering his career bases) at his recent Hall of Fame induction, Philadelphia fans know a phony when they hear one. By the way, Rolen could have opted for a no-logo cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, and instead chose to be enshrined as a Cardinal.

Rolen says he will return to Philadelphia in September – who cares when? – for his WOF ceremony. There will be some healthy applause. But even if common decency will dictate a reduction of the booing, there will be some of that, too.

Anyone who can’t figure out why – even one of the best Phillies ever – never will.

• How did baseball survive for a century-plus without fans being made to feel uneducated if they didn’t immediately recognize the difference between a four-seam fastball and a three-seam slow one?

• Major league umpiring has become so bad that it’s almost at the level of college basketball officiating. Some standards, though, are just too high to ever meet.

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Celebrity bartenders … I don’t get it.

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The most lasting impression out of the over-hyped NBA summer league this year – at least there was one, because no one can ever remember one before – was the bodyguard for Victor Wembeanyama appearing to give Britney Spears an over-aggressive shove for trying to get the attention of the latest pro sports anointed one.

Whether or not the princess of pop was close to the personal space of a Basketball Player with just as many career NBA points was no more the issue than the content, pro or con, of any of her concert reviews. The issue was that somewhere in the last quarter century professional athletes have begun to be protected as if they are somebody. So if anyone – even a 5-foot-4 female with no ill intent – gets too close to one, a push back is considered the new normal.

Since Spears is ever trailed by camera-folk, the tape of the episode went viral. And because it did, it opened the question: How many other fans or near fans receive the same treatment every day without it rating space in People magazine?

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Don’t know for sure, but the best guess is that the first recommendation from any life coach has to be to find somebody to pay you to be a life coach.

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Certain fans have been badgering the Eagles for years to return to Kelly green uniforms. With that, the club has authorized the brighter green gear … but only for certain games. The effect: Supporters will be fashion-shamed into investing in multiple replica jerseys, one for every shade of green.

Just call it the Eagles’ most successful trick play since Doug Pederson agreed with a certain proposed call from Nick Foles.

• On the night the Cleveland Browns had to settle for an exhibition-game tie at the Linc because their kicker, Cade York, kept botching would-be deciding field goals, the Eagles saw Jake Elliott hammer a 56-yard three-pointer that would have been good from the Tiger tees of a par-5.

Not that he is alone in being in two Super Bowls for the Eagles, but Elliot rarely is included in conversation about the core contributors of the era. Few Philadelphia athletes in any sport, though, have been so consistently productive for so long.

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People who give their dogs last names. Don’t get.

Contact Jack McCaffery at jmccaffery@delcotimes.com